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Steering Shaft

but i have checked all of that and the only thing i can find is play in shaft/box and possibly unbalanced tires
 
Here are the installed pics of my XJ shaft.

steering1.JPG

steering2.JPG

steering3.JPG


Ira
 
thanks.....but wat could be the culprit of my DW....according to my buddys dad (who i fully trust) there was nothing wrong with the balljoints, TREs, and we replaced the drag link because it had alot of play in it. and after we did that my dw went away for a good 2 to 3 weeks and then a week or 2 ago it came back..so i`m really not sure what to think at this point. i didnt see any play in the new draglink since the wobble came back. also when we replaced the draglink and the wobble went away the steering also felt a little better, it didnt swerve as much on the highway and now that the wobbles back, its swerving and wandering again. the only thing i notice is that when i hit a slight big bump in the road or a speed bump i hear a thump/clunk noise coming from what sounds like the front/right of my truck and it swerves off to the right sometime when i go on the highway
 
ok..i have stumbled upon a couple things. my tie rod end on pass side seems to be cocked a bit. i`m not sure if its supposed to be like that and/or if it is effecting anything. when i looked at it, it looks as if it is missing the plastic piece that goes on it and it was kind of tilted up. i was able to spin the tierod to make it flush but i dont know if it was supposed to be like that. also my steering box. there has been a clunkin noise coming from it for a few months so we looked at it a little more. with the truck just sitting in one spot, i had someone spin the steerng wheel back and forth. you can see that the pitman arm where it bolts in the steering arm looks as if it is going up and down in the steering box...any idea????
 
If there's play in the pitman arm itself, i'd replace it...do you have a buddy with anoter chevy which you can compare the "up and down movement" with??
 
nope well not yet...but my buddys dad said that he`s never seen that before..there is a clunkin noise coming from it so we think its the box. hard to tell though.would that be the cause of my wobble?? besides the tierond end i talked about the only other things we found were play in the shaft and the gear box and the bottom where the pitman arm goes on looks like its going in and out of the box..could the tie rod end i explained be causing anything??
 
pic of tie rod end

this is just to show u wat my TRE end looks like to see if it could be causing me a problem with wobble/wandering

060202040728.JPG

060202040736.JPG
 
we went down to the junkyard and pulled a shaft(double u joint) out of a 93 cherokee and it fits both the steering box and they column ends but its an inch longer...is it safe to collapse it an inch with a press or something????
 
tRustyK5 said:
There are a lot of possibilities for wander or sloppy steering. All it takes is a bit of time and a helper and you'll find the problems readily enough.

Chock the wheels, fire the truck up and have your helper move the steering wheel to the right a turn or so, then back left. Watch for flex or other weird movement at the rag joint. Listen for clunks and bangs, they usually indicate either a steering box that is loose or a frame that is cracked.

Now slide under the front of the truck (safely away from the front tires) and watch what the box is doing. At one point I could clearly see my box move...bolts were loose and I later found frame cracks. Now watch the drag link ends as the steering is cycled back and forth. If they're worn you'll see excessive movement. Next is the Tie rod ends...same deal, watch for movement or play that shouldn't be there. Last thing to check is movement at the spring perch. There shouldn't be any...but if you have loose U-bolts or a broken center pin there will be movement or clunking noise or both.

If all that checks out get your helper to help you check the toe-in. All you need is a tape measure...get your helper to hold the dumb end of the tape against the inside of the tire on a good part of the sidewall about halfway up the tire (ahead of the diff). You read the smart end of the tape and write down the measurement. Have your helper hold the tape on the same part of the tire behind the diff while you read the smart end of the tape again. The measurement up front should be between 1/8" and 1/4" smaller than the measurement behind the diff. If it's not within that range you can loosen the adjuster collar bolts and turn the adjuster one direction or the other to get it within range. Make small adjustmants, roll the truck back and forth a ways and re-check.

Now jack up one side of the front so the tire is about an inch or two off the ground. Pull the bottom of the tire towards you...if the ball joints or kingpins are in good shape the tire will not move towards you at all. Any movement down there indicates bad ball joints or king pin issues.

Every area I've mentioned is somewhat common for problems to be found. Very common are frame cracks and loose steering box bolts. Weld in frame repair kits take care of cracked frames, and the bolt in braces help keep them from cracking again as well as firming up the steering by tirangulating the frame in that area.

FWIW I've done all of this to my own truck over the years and although I don't have the double U-joint steering shaft in place (yet) my truck rolls down the highway with little to no wander at all...and i run unbalanced 39.5" bias ply TSL's with a single stock stabilizer.

HTH

Rene
Click to expand...

not to sound dumb but what is this spring perch??? i have a clunking noise but i thinks its my box/shaft....
 
tRustyK5 said:
Late 80's or early 90's XJ double U-joint shaft is pretty much a direct bolt in replacement. Certainly no more work than a Borgeson...

Got mine for $15 cdn at the local pick-n-pull.

Rene
Click to expand...

what had to be done to make the shaft fit?
 
I ordered one of the Borgeson 935 units from Summit and it's going in very soon. Bye-bye rag joint! If I remember to, I'll post regarding play reduction. By the way, the Borgeson shaft is a teeny bit too long, but all that needs done is to remove the end and saw the end of the shaft to fit. Very beefy shaft assembly, almost looks like it was stolen out of a Peterbilt.

I will probably decide to replace the OE steering box anyway, because it has some play that can no longer be adjusted out, and also because I want to get one of those ORD bolt-on frame reinforcer kits installed (easiest to to that while changing out the steering box). Everything else is good (ball joints, tie rod ends, drag link, etc.).
 
Shaft installed!

The Borgeson 935 is in, and it got rid of about half of the steering play. There isn't any significant (as in disagreeable) amount of increased vibration felt at the steering wheel, but you do get a better feel of what's going on at the steering box and beyond, which I really like.

Other than having to chop the shaft length, which Borgeson did warn me about, it was a direct bolt-in. The box & pitman arm are next, and the ORD bolt-in frame beefing will go in at the same time, so that ought to ace the rest of the play.

IMG_0054_280pixelshigh.jpg
 
BIGBLAZE433 said:
thanks.....but wat could be the culprit of my DW....according to my buddys dad (who i fully trust) there was nothing wrong with the balljoints, TREs, and we replaced the drag link because it had alot of play in it. and after we did that my dw went away for a good 2 to 3 weeks and then a week or 2 ago it came back..so i`m really not sure what to think at this point. i didnt see any play in the new draglink since the wobble came back. also when we replaced the draglink and the wobble went away the steering also felt a little better, it didnt swerve as much on the highway and now that the wobbles back, its swerving and wandering again. the only thing i notice is that when i hit a slight big bump in the road or a speed bump i hear a thump/clunk noise coming from what sounds like the front/right of my truck and it swerves off to the right sometime when i go on the highway
Click to expand...

tighten the 4 bolts on the steering box, and check for cracks on the frame, or could even be a worn steering box. after tightening my bolts got rid of my dw
 
ok
i think the box is the problem...i got another box to put in and a steering shaft out of a xj so hopefully thats the cure
 
ok i got it....took one out of a 92 but u joint at the box end was gone so i took one out of a 87 and got a box rebuilt now i just gotta find time and help to put it in
 
check out Flaming River. You can pretty much make your own shaft if you want. I'd imagine they're kinda spendy, but I hear they're pretty darn good.
 
today was my lucky day...got my buddy and his dad to help me out...got a new box,xj shaft put in.....buh bye DW:D ....all i need now is a front end alignment and my tires balanced and im set:D
 
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